


el mañana

by theworldfellapart



Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Accidental, Adopt a Child, Adoption, BIG GAYS, Bar Fight, Homelessness, Idiots in Love, Kinda, Latino Character, M/M, Minor Violence, Out of Character, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Thief, Villains, Villains to Heroes, Violence, by accident, charlie is anyway, i can't write fights sorry, i made them better people than they really are, protect charlie forever, soft latino boy, they're good people i promise, we came up with character in a day and i'd die for him, you will love him
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2019-10-29 08:34:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17804663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theworldfellapart/pseuds/theworldfellapart
Summary: Billy Russo and Benjamin Poindexter didn't mean to adopt a child.In fact, they never intended to meet each other in the first place, but that's just how things go.Charlie Dean Wells didn't mean for many things to happen.So a little bit of help might not go amiss, in that case.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [billydex sluts](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=billydex+sluts).



> TW - Attempted sexual assault. Minor violence, blood mentions, knives.

Chapter One

The bar was crowded, loud, and a little bit smelly, but it worked for Billy Russo, who really wasn't looking for much in particular that night. Just enough drinks to numb the edge he was feeling, crawling into the corners of his head as he pushed through the bodies in the open space, enough to leave him feeling jumpy and with a sense of anxiety, but not enough that he couldn't plaster the charm on when he reached the bar.

"A bourbon on the rocks, please, when you get the chance." He flashed a grin at the bartender, reflexes kicking in as he scouted the bar either side of him with a quick flash of his eyes, a habit that he knew he'd never get rid of, not after all those years in the army- no, there was plenty from his army days he wasn't getting rid of.

A man to the right of Billy caught his eye. Dirty blonde hair, propped up on a barstool and his arms folded round the drink in front of him, his eyes fixed down on the liquor that he swirled in its bottle with slow turns of his wrist. It wasn't his shadowed expression that caught Billy's eye, or the worn denim jacket, it was something else that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Maybe the man had also been in the army? Young, athletic build, haunted expression - it made sense. Or was it some sort of psychic sensory feeling linking them together, drawing him into wanting to make conversation. Billy scoffed at himself. _Sensory bullshit._

He leant his arms on the bar and turned his head with a characteristic smirk stretched across his face, looking right at the man, who in return, didn't look up from his drink.

"I buy you a drink?" Billy offered.

The blonde still didn't raise his eyes. "I'm alright thanks man."

"Come on." Billy gave a light chuckle. "You haven't even looked at who's offering yet."

The stranger finally lifted his head, just a touch, to scan Billy's awaiting face. "Like I said," he raised the half-full bottle, "I'm good."

The bartender placed a glass on the counter, a soft thud, bourbon on the rocks, and Billy turned to pick it up, take a long sip, and raise it to the man on his right with a wink. "Your loss."

He moved further down the bar, away from the stranger, to a group of attractive and tipsy ladies, and the stranger turned back to his bottle.

***

The bar was too busy, loud, and smelled pretty bad, but that was exactly what the teenager walking into the room needed, a perfect mess of factors to get lost in.

He pushed through the crowd, worry written clearly on his face as he shot looks over his shoulder, muttering hasty apologies as he bumped into people on the way. He headed straight for the toilets, which was really just the first thing that had come to his mind, but it made sense, they'd have a harder time of looking for him in there.

The boy wasn't unnoticed by Billy, who saw the young, latino face and frowned- he was a bit out of place here.

But the boy didn't notice him, and carried out his plan, ducking into the toilets and locking himself in a cubicle. Breathing heavily. 

He ran his fingers through the brown strands on top of his head, his thoughts racing a thousand a second, but the music was muted and less thumping in here, and he could feel his pulse steadying, his breaths slowing, the room quiet as the door swung shut with the footsteps of someone leaving. 

It was quiet now. Safe? Only one way to find that out, he thought. 

He raised a slightly shaking hand to unlock the door, rubbed his eyes, and stepped out.

A group of men, four in total, were waiting for him, having caught the door and walked in silently, now they leant against the sinks and just waited.

"Can," The boy paused, his breath catching in his throat. "Can I help you?"

"You definitely can." One of the men spoke, his voice low, his tone less than friendly, and he stepped away from the sink.

"Please, I think you guys have the wrong person, I don't know you." The boy backed away, the door of the cubicle hitting his back with the realisation that there was nowhere for him to run, he'd backed himself into a corner. "Pinché." He cursed to himself, under his breath.

The man gave a shrug, taking a casual step forward. "Oh, but we know you, Charlie." 

The boy, Charlie, inhaled sharply, then his arm whipped out straight ahead of him, brandishing a small pocket-knife that he pointed at the men circling him. "Stay back."

The leader of the group stopped in his tracks. Then his mouth stretched into a mocking smile, and he looked at the other men, slowly and carefully. "Isn't that cute? Boy thinks he can stop us with a pocket-knife."

"I mean it, stay b-"

Charlie let out a shout of pain as one of the men grabbed his arm, pushing it down with one hand, and pressed on his shoulder with the other, twisting until he dropped the knife. The leader lowered himself into a crouch, reaching down to pick up the blade, and he looked up at the boy.

"You were going to use this on us?"

Charlie struggled in the man's grasp and didn't give an answer, trying to twist round without getting his shoulder dislocated or worse, but the man held too tight, and with a gesture from their leader, he was pulled upwards and shoved against the wall behind him, hands twisted in his jacket to hold him in place.

"I asked you a question," the man continued, standing up and moving close to Charlie, "Were you going to attack us with this?" 

Charlie turned his head to the right - that way he didn't have to look at the leader on his left, or the man pinning him to the wall, just a smooth wooden panel, almost calming - but the leader grabbed his chin and forced his face back round to see him.

"I think that's quite rude of you, really, threatening us with a knife." He didn't let go of his squeezing vice hold on Charlie's cheeks. "Isn't it, boys?"

"Not very nice at all, boss." One of the men still leaning against the sinks replied, with a grin. 

The leader waved a hand at the man next to him, indicating for him to step back so that the leader could take his place, wrap his own hand in the material of Charlie's jacket, and press the pocket knife to Charlie's exposed throat.

"How does that feel, hm?" He pushed harder, ignoring Charlie's winces as he tried to stretch his neck away from the blade. "Does that feel good?" 

"What now, boss?" The man in the background piped up again.

"Now?" The leader grinned, twisted and eager. "Now I have some fun." 

***

The attractive woman to Billy's left was talking, hadn't stopped in a while actually, but he wasn't putting in the most effort to listen to her. Slow sips of the whiskey, a couple nods and murmurs now and then, was all that Billy was required to do. She might've been rambling about something interesting, something that Billy could've joined in with if he actually tried, but he doubted that, mostly due to the level of drunkness she was at that point, and the tone of drawl coming out of her mouth was something he just found himself zoning out to.

Besides, if he was being honest, he had other things on his mind. Distractions, scraping and cutting his attention, nudging away at his mind, despite the alcohol he was pouring into his system. He'd first found it difficult to concentrate on the conversation he was supposed to be part of when he saw that boy run in, tense and coiled up like a spring, ready to explode, Billy thought, and he saw him run straight into the toilets.

And then, just as he'd pushed the boy out of his mind, he noticed the men following. 

Couldn't really help but notice, not with his years of experience with and against those exact kinds of men, as they moved through the crowd as an organised and focused force, all predators on a mission, fixed on completing their objective. They'd followed the boy into the toilets maybe five minutes ago, and Billy was sure everything would be fine. He was sure there was no reason for him to get involved. He was sure that being the hero wasn't who he was, never had been. 

But the longer the woman to his left droned on, the faster his fingers tapped on the side of his glass and the counter, and the more often he checked the corridor to the toilets, looked for familiar faces, and more pressure was building in his chest, rising to his throat, strangling, and he had to go. 

"Sorry, I have to visit the men's room, I'll just be a minute." He interrupted the woman mid-flow and walked away from the bar without waiting for a reply, heading for the toilets, his mind set.

_The knife was adjusted, moved to the side of Charlie's neck, to make room at the front of his neck for the man's lips._

Billy sidestepped a couple making out in the corridor, ignoring their drunken moans, his pace a bit quicker. The flickering overhead light wasn't helping his paranoia. 

_The boy protested and wriggled some more, but the man continued to press long, sloppy kisses to his neck, beginning from right under the chin to the top of his shirt._

_The man paused to pant in Charlie's face. "Pretty thing like you, we'll have no trouble, isn't that right?"_

Billy was nearly at the toilets now, his step only slowed when he noticed the man standing in front of the door, arms folded. 

"Hey, can I get through?" He thought it was at least worth a try. 

The man shook his head, smiled. "Sorry, mate, they're out of order." 

Billy sighed. Then threw his fist right into the man's face, knocking his head into the door, and he crumpled to the floor. 

_The leader of the group kicked the boy's legs apart slightly, pressing his own leg in between, lowering a hand to touch the boy's thigh-_

_A crash. Then-_

The door swung open, and Billy stood there, and time froze for a moment. 

He saw the spread legs, the hand on the thigh, the knife still pressed to the throat - and he saw red. Or black, nothingness. Or everything at once, in rapid vividty. 

The knife he always kept tucked in the back of his jeans was out before he knew it and hurled straight at the man's head, the one holding the boy, and then he was dead. Simple. Problem solved. Everything red.

The rest of the group, freed from their freeze-frame, rushed forwards suddenly, the threat finally recognised, and they started laying in their kicks and punches on the attacker. 

Billy smiled. This was going to be fun.

***

Dex was enjoying the company of his beer, just the cool neck of the bottle and his own mind and memories, now that he had been left alone, after the brief offer of a stranger, and he could finally stew over his memories as he did most nights, never coming to much of a conclusion.

He thought of Julie. Her red hair. He thought of Dr. Mercer, the tapes. Reciting them in his head, imagining her voice. The structure, the familiarity of coming to the same bar most nights. Everything was in order. 

He heard crashes. Of course, at first he dismissed those as just more memories, surfacing from whatever depths of his mind he'd tried to drown them in, as he was no stranger to crashes in his life, but he realised quickly that the crashes were real and happening right at that moment. He tuned in, using his acute hearing like an instrument, and tracked the source of the noises to the toilets, or at least in that general direction.

And of course, his niggling curiosity wouldn't let it rest, and maybe whatever was going would be more interesting than drowning in self-pity and the past. Dex downed the rest of his drink, placed the bottle on the counter. Traced the wood under his finger for a minute. Then, he found himself in the corridor leading to the toilets, the noise getting louder with every step. 

Crashes, grunts, the solid smack of punches - he recognised the sounds of a fight. 

Dex kicked open the door. He wasn't wasting any more time just waiting around, sitting on a barstool, not when the heat of a fight was so close. He saw three men, kicking and punching with all the force of trained fighters, a boy keeping against the wall, frozen, and the man from earlier, who'd offered him a drink, in the center of it all. Taking all the attacks with a harsh laugh, spitting out blood to the side. 

"The hell..." Dex wasn't sure what to make of it, or rather, where to begin. 

Three on one didn't seem very fair though, not to Dex's standards of a fair fight, so he took advantage of the surprise his arrival had been, and the slightly unsure faces of the men at this new competitor, to grab the nearest man and knee him in the face. The grapple for control began, with the man landing a strong punch to Dex's side in return, but Dex swiftly kicked the man's legs hard enough for him to stumble, giving him time to get him with a left hook. 

Billy, meanwhile, seemed somewhat uplifted by this new arrival, and with renewed vigor, he started laying into the two men still enclosing him. His punches were brutal and merciless, considering what he'd seen before, and blood splattered his face as he pounded the nose of one of the men. He was dragged off by the other one, smashed against the mirrors, breaking a sink in two, and then to the floor, pinned down ready for a pounding of his own, but Dex stepped in and pushed him off with a punch. He was then knocked down from the back, tackled to the floor, and kicks were reigning in against his sides. Dex put his arms up to protect his face, looked over to his right, and noticed a handy blade, just about in reaching difference. The only issue, it being wedged in someone's head. He let the man kick him some more, then shot his legs out hard against the man, and stretched over to tug out the knife. It was lodged in tight, but he kept yanking and pulling until it flew out, and he angled it right, mental calculations whirring in his head, and threw it full force at the man's chest. Jumping up, mustering energy with the roar of adrenaline, he grabbed the handle of the knife and drove it further into the man's body, pushing him against the wall, tearing it along so it caused the man to scream in pain. 

Then a large thud. Dex whipped his head round, only to see the boy standing with half a sink in his hand, the red-stained white porcelain, the red spreading over his hands, and he just stared, blinking, breathing heavily. One of the men lay on the floor, either dead or unconscious Dex wasn't sure, but from the position Billy was in, it seemed like the boy must've saved him. Dex checked the man he'd stabbed and decided he wasn't going to be a problem, his eyes flittering shut already. 

"You okay?" Heavy words broke through the shocked silence, coming from Billy, but addressed to the boy, who was still holding the sink. 

Charlie didn't reply. Dumb question. Had to be asked.

Billy stood up, somewhat shakily, holding out a hand towards the boy, but maintaining a distance. His voice was soft, quiet. "Hey, I'm not gonna touch you, I promise. But do you want to put that sink down?"

Charlie blinked a couple more times, the brown of his eyes shown as they flickered to Billy's face, and he lowered the heavy porcelain to the floor, his hands visibly shaking. 

"I'm Billy, Billy Russo." Billy offered a smile, then looked around the room. "And we should probably get out of here." 

Dex watched the exchange silently, noticing the caution Billy was using, the shock on Charlie's face, and he had some kind of idea of what the men now lying on the floor had been up to. 

"Hey, guy who already has his own drink, you coming?" Billy's eyes were fixed on Dex now, a smirk in his voice as he stepped closer to the door. 

Dex looked back at Billy, his face becoming more and more familiar the longer he looked at it, his expression slightly manic, but not in a way the worried him, and he looked at the brown-haired boy who seemed to be following close behind, stepping over the bodies, despite no verbal agreements being made. 

He thought of the drinks waiting for him at the bar. The past. 

Dex nodded. "It's Dex. And yeah, I'm coming."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whewww this took so long to write i'm glad it's done!! hope you all enjoy :)
> 
> pls leave comments on whatever you thought of the first chapter, maybe what you'd like to see next
> 
> billy, dex and charlie will be going much further on their journey of course, stay tuned (but updates will be slow)
> 
> i dont like writing fights much oops so hope it's not too bad


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Billy pushed open the door to the motel and held it for Charlie and Dex to follow,  ever the gentlemen, as their eyes  took in the dirt lining the floor and  a cockroach scuttling into a hole in the wall. Yeah, this was gonna be a nice place to stay.

The man at the reception desk was flicking through a magazine, feet propped up, looking as bored as anyone who was stuck in this job would look,  especially with the night shift.  Billy knocked his fist once against the counter, leaning on the surface to speak to the receptionist.

“Room for three, please.” 

The receptionist glanced at him, and Charlie and Dex standing behind, the boy staring into space looking terrified. The blood on their hands and clothes. Billy slapped a handful of bills on the counter, raising his eyebrows. 

“Alright.” The man pulled his feet off the desk and looked at the computer, checking availabilities. It wasn’t his place to ask questions. “I got a room with a double and single, is that okay?” 

Billy half looked back at the others, then nodded, impatient. “That’s fine. How much?”

“Just the one night?”

“For now.”

The man punched in the details on his keyboard. “That’s $64.”

Billy counted out $80, handed it over, should keep him quiet. “Keep the change.”

After taking the room key, they made their way to the awaiting Room 6 that was to be theirs for the night,  a cramped and ugly room, with a broken window, but two beds and a TV nevertheless. It would do.

Both Billy and Dex scanned the room as they walked in, checked the door lock, checked the broken window, checked the tiny bathroom, until they were satisfied. Billy flopped down on the edge of the double bed with a sigh, and Charlie followed suit, slowly lowering himself onto the single bed next to it,  worried that his legs wouldn’t be steady enough to hold him if he carried on standing. Dex remained standing. 

“Right.” Billy ran a hand through his hair. “We need a plan.”

No-one said anything, Charlie gave a jerk of the head that could’ve been a nod and Dex was just looking at the floor. So Billy continued.

“Who were those men, kid? Why were they after you?” He fixed his eyes on Charlie, trying to express some concern on his face to make him feel more at ease, but concern wasn’t really Billy’s strong suit.

“How can I trust you?” Charlie mumbled, keeping his eyes down.

“We saved you, didn’t we?” Billy nodded at Dex, and then lowered his voice slightly. “And let’s just say that I was in a similar spot when I was a kid, and no-one saved me. So.”

Charlie looked surprised for a moment, his eyes caught Billy’s, and then he sighed, looking smaller than ever, but started to talk. “If you hadn’t guessed already, I’m homeless. And I needed money. I was… Well, I  _am_ , not doing so well.”

He broke off for a minute and Billy spoke quickly, coaxing him to tell the truth. “Keep going, we won’t judge. I haven’t been a very moral citizen myself.”

“Okay, well, I was burgling a house one night. Looked like a rich place, there was a window left slightly open, and I thought it was empty. It was supposed to be, but while I was searching through drawers in the bedroom, I heard voices from downstairs. So, I go to check it out. Creep down the stairs, look through a crack in the door into the room where there were quite a few people. Long story short- it was some kind of drug deal. And they saw me, so I legged it back upstairs and out of the window and I thought I was safe, until about a week later I noticed someone following me, and then someone else, so I led them to the bar hoping to lose them. Obviously, that didn’t go to plan.” 

Charlie sighed again.  He moved his hands under his legs to sit on, trying to stop the shaking. “That’s everything. I’m done.”

Dex exchanged a look with Billy; they both knew that  just witnessing a drug deal was not worth sending highly-trained professionals after a homeless kid, no, there was more going on here,  more that Charlie had skated over in his brief story.

“Do you think they’ll keep coming after you?” Billy shot at the teen.

“I, I’m not sure, I don’t know why they’d-”

“Are you sure you didn’t see anything else?” 

Charlie rubbed the back of his head, and Dex cut in, sensing that Billy wasn’t going to stop his interrogation anytime soon. “The first step is that we get some sleep. Figure things out when we wake up.” 

He glanced at Charlie, who still somehow looked terrified from the events earlier that night, attempting to mask it, but the fear was clear in his face, and paired with exhaustion. He needed sleep, the way his eyes were drooping, or he’d drop any second. 

Billy frowned slightly but nodded in agreement. “Okay, let’s call it a night. Charlie, you can use the shower first, if you want. Surprisingly, the lock actually works, I checked.”

Charlie paused for a moment, then gave a half-smile. “Not sure how clean I’ll get showering in this place, but sure, I’ll shower.” 

Dex snorted and Charlie glanced at him, his smile growing slightly as he walked into the other room.

There was silence for a moment. Then, the noise of the shower filled the room. Billy let the silence stretch on a bit longer, and then pushed himself off the bed with a bounce and made for the door. 

“Well, I’m going to go move the car less out of plain sight.” He explained, walking past Dex.

Dex grabbed his arm, not too hard, but firm enough to stop him in his tracks. “Wait.” He paused, checking for the sounds of the shower, and Billy looked at him, trying to hide his surprise. “Why are you doing this? Why are you helping the kid?”

Billy smirked and fired back. “Why are you?”

Dex knew he wasn’t going to get a straight answer out of Billy, he might as well give up, but he let go of his arm and gave him an answer anyway, shrugging. “He was in trouble. Doesn’t seem like he has anyone else who can help him.”

“Nah.” Billy shook his head, still smiling. “You’re ex-military, like me. You’re doing this for the adventure, the adrenaline rush, the need for a mission. This has been your lucky day, you have something to fight again, someone to protect and an enemy to hunt down. You’re doing this because you don’t know how to walk away from it.” 

Dex didn’t say anything for a moment, keeping his face impassive.  Tried to ignore the truth in Billy’s words.  “Is that why you’re doing this then?” 

Billy shrugged. “Maybe. Or maybe I’m just bored.”  He laughed, a short bark, and left the room, leaving Dex standing alone in the middle of the tiny motel room.

***

Not long later, Billy returned and they both took their turns showering after Charlie, who came back looking a lot cleaner than before, despite the blood still on his clothes, but nothing could be done about that as there was nothing to change into. Dex was last to go in, so while he was showering, Billy turned the TV on to make things less awkward. Neither he or Charlie felt much up to talking anyway. He flicked through the little option of channels available, leaning back against the pillows on the double bed, and eventually settled on Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Yes. Yes, it was shit, but it would have to do. 

He glanced over at Charlie, about to make a joke  about the show, but the kid had earphones in and was staring up at the ceiling, lost in whatever music he was listening to. Billy smiled and turned back to the show.

Soon, Dex unlocked the bathroom door and Billy,  an arm folded behind his head and against the pillows, watched as he walked out, his hair wet and scruffy. He stopped by the TV.

“Keeping Up With The Kardashians, huh?”

“There’s not much good on at this hour.” Billy shot back, a reluctant grin pulling at his mouth. 

Charlie popped out an earphone to listen to the exchange and added quietly. “It really is shit.”

Dex smiled, then paused, looking between the beds. “Who uh- who’s sleeping where?”

Charlie sat up, starting to get  off the bed . “I’ll take the floor, I’m used to-”

“No.” Billy and Dex spoke in unison, surprising them both a little, but neither of them commented on it.

“Charlie, keep the single bed.” Billy spoke firmly, leaving no room for argument, and then he looked at Dex, smirking. “We’ll share. We’ve both been in the army, we’re used to it, right Dex?”

“Uh sure. Yeah, that’s fine.” Dex nodded, moving round to the other side of the bed, avoiding eye contact. 

“Hey, don’t worry.” Billy waited till Dex caught his eye, then shot him a wink. “I’ll keep to my side.” 

Dex ignored him and fought the reddening of his cheeks, taking off his denim jacket and slipping under the duvet on his side of the bed. He turned over onto his side, facing the wall, and dropped into sleep quickly, which was surprising given his normal insomnia, but less surprising after considering the events of that night. Behind him, Charlie had put the earphones back in and curled  up tight  onto his side, falling asleep to the soothing tones of Gorillaz. And when Billy  finally  got bored with the TV, he pulled of f his suit jacket, hung it on the edge of the bed, and climbed under the duvet, trying not to pull at it and wake Dex.  He faced the man, could just about make out the blonde in his hair in the dark, the blinds left open gave the room some illumination. He felt the warmth under the duvet, the body heat from just inches away, and eventually fell asleep to Dex’s soft snores.

***

The next morning, Dex awoke to the harsh sunlight streaming through the window, right onto his face. They’d forgotten to do the blinds last night and he’d always been a light sleeper, so that was that. And once he was awake, he was awake, and there was no point attempting to go back to sleep, despite the headache already prodding at his head, but at least coffee would solve that.

He sat up slowly and glanced at the man lying besides him, his dark hair flopping against the pillow, his face golden in the light. He’d sleep for a while longer, Dex thought, enough time for him to slip out and grab a coffee and some food before anyone would notice he was gone.

At least, that was what he’d hoped, he hadn’t been expecting Billy to wake up not much later and stare in confusion for a few moments at the empty spot besides him.

“Dex?” Billy rubbed his eyes and called out to the room, wondering if he was in the bathroom, but there was no reply.

“Charlie, wake up.” He hissed at the boy dead asleep in the bed next to him. “Charlie. Charlie.”

It was no use, Charlie wasn’t waking anytime soon, and Billy didn’t want to scare him by shaking him awake, so he left him to sleep. He looked round the room with tired eyes, all sorts of thoughts running through his mind, and not that he’d admit it, but he was about to start panicking when the door to the room opened.

It was Dex, loaded with bags and a coffee tray. “Morning.” He grinned.

He was a morning person then. Billy wasn’t.

Dex dumped the bags on the end of the bed and handed a coffee over to Billy, who welcomed it gladly, tipping it back immediately, only pausing to mutter to Dex, “Bless you.”

“Figured we could use some provisions.” Dex explained, pulling out boxes of cereal and laying them on the bed. “We’ll have to buy new clothes at some point, though. People will notice bloodstains. And, we’ll start to smell.”

“So...what, you just bought cereal?” Billy looked sceptically at the boxes on the bed.

Dex scratched the back of his neck. “Uh, yeah. Yes, I did.”

He managed to escape having to attempt to explain himself any more, because their voices had stirred the lifeless form of Charlie, who saw all the cereal boxes piled up on the bed, pulled the earphones out of his ears, and murmured, “Que fregados...”

“Morning, Charlie.” Dex’s coffee had clearly injected energy into him, from the sound of his voice. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got a few options. We have Cheerios, Fruit Loops, Cap’n Crunch, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Cocoa Pebbles-”

“I’ll just have Cheerios, thanks.” Charlie cut in hastily, sitting up in the bed.

Dex chucked the box to him and Billy handed him a coffee from the tray. They were going to need all the caffeine they could get.

“So then.” Dex looked at both of them, whilst munching the Cinnamon Toast Crunch straight out of the box. “About that plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope everyone enjoyed the new chapter! sorry it took so long, i finally got inspo  
> yes billy canonically now watches kutwtk, change my mind  
> and charlie listens to gorillaz all the time, hence the name of this fic  
> do i have a clue where this is going next? no..but let's pretend i do


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

An hour or so later, and the boys found themselves wandering the aisles of a nearby thrift store, as inconspicuously as possible, due to the general consensus that new clothes were needed, along with the day to recover, before they set any grand plan into motion. The thrift store itself was an easy choice; they needed somewhere quiet and fairly small, not wanting to attract any attention to themselves, and also there was the small issue of money, or more specifically, having none of it. It wasn’t a dire situation – Billy and Dex did have a fair amount each on them, and as long as they were still unknown to Charlie’s assailants, bank withdrawals wouldn’t be a problem, but still, it was best to remain under the radar as much as possible, just in case. Charlie, on the other hand, had very little cash on him, which was on account of having been homeless for the past few years. 

Billy strolled casually along the aisle, running a hand over the clothes, and then with a grin, picked something out and held it up. “Now  _this_ would really suit you, Charlie boy.”

On the other side of the aisle, Dex rolled his eyes. The item in question was  a rather ugly Hawaiian shirt ,  bright green and riddled with printed pineapples, and needless to say, Charlie wasn’t impressed. 

“ _C_ _á_ _llete pendejo_.” He muttered, scowling.

Billy continued smirking at Charlie, despite Charlie’s refusal to even look at him. “You know, swearing at me in Spanish isn’t that effective really, is it, because I don’t understand a word of what you’re saying.”

“He told you to fuck off.” Dex explained calmly, as he examined a black denim jacket. 

Both Billy and Charlie looked at Dex in surprise. 

“You speak Spanish?” Billy asked, with an incredulous expression. 

Dex shrugged. “I speak some. Enough.” 

“Yeah, enough to know the real important stuff, like the swear words.” Billy scoffed in reply. 

“It’s where everyone starts, isn’t it?” Dex hid a grin. 

“I can’t believe I’m the only one here who doesn’t know Spanish. You two could have secret conversations and I’d just have no clue.”

Charlie walked off at this point, presumably sick of Billy’s bullshit, and went to pick out some clothes more to his tastes, while Billy and Dex watched him go with short glances, both trying to hide their concern and obvious protectiveness of the boy from each other. A vintage suit caught Billy’s eye, but he ignored the temptation to buy it, he knew something more inconspicuous was necessary for the time being. He picked out a burgundy sweater instead, looking it over.

“So.” Billy didn’t look up from the sweater, but was speaking clearly. “Dex. What do you do?”

“’Scuse me?”

“What’s your job?”

Dex paused for a moment, considering. “I used to be FBI.”

Billy raised his eyebrows with a scoff. “Seriously? FBI? Law enforcement, the government, we are talking about those guys, right?”

“That’s them.”

“Then what are you doing with me and the kid?”

“I can’t really leave you alone with him, can I?” Dex shot a smirk at Billy, before tugging at some tattered jeans.

Billy shook his head in disbelief. “You’re full of surprises, you are.  First the Spanish, now this. What’s next, you’re married and have five kids? ”

“You knew I was ex-military like you, what’s the big deal?”

Billy didn’t answer as they moved slowly through the shop, staying silent for a few moments, until he murmured under his breath, “FBI...”

Dex sighed, clearly regretting his life choices, specifically ones involving Billy. “ _Ex_ -FBI, okay?”

“The good ol’ Federal Bureau of Investigation...”

“Look.” Dex spun to glare at Billy. “It wasn’t the right fit. I left. I am no longer FBI. Got it?”

Billy raised his hands in mock surrender and sauntered over to  Charlie, who had a neat pile of clothes stacked in his arms.

“That what you want? You got pants?”

Charlie nodded and handed over the pile to Billy, to add to the items Billy had picked  for himself. Dex had wandered over by this point, his  brief  little temper tantrum forgotten, and he also added his stuff to the growing collection in Billy’s arms.

“Alright. That everything?” Billy nodded at the clothes, and after no protests, started to walk off. “I’ll go pay, then.”

“Oh, wait.” Dex called out, and Billy slowed, turning back to face him.

“What is it?”

“You- your collar, just-” Dex stammered for words, trying to gesture to where Billy’s suit jacket had pulled off his right shoulder slightly and his collar was turned up, revealing a dark splotch of blood, which evidently, was the source of Dex’s worry.

Billy shrugged at him in half confusion, lifting the  pile of  clothes  in his arms  slightly as he did.

Dex, realising that Billy’s hands were full and not wanting to drag this thing out any longer, already regretting having said anything, stepped closer and folded Billy’s collar down. He pulled the jacket more securely back onto Billy’s shoulder  to cover up the blood ,  then smoothed it down on both sides, his eyes avoiding Billy’s face, who in turn, was staring at him.  Dex looked up, sensing the gaze on him, and caught Billy’s eye for a moment, then moved back quickly with a small cough,  fighting the reddening of his cheeks.

“There was blood.” He muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“Well, uh.” Billy glanced at Charlie quickly, who hadn’t been paying attention at all really, staring off at some point in space. “Thanks.”

He walked off to pay and they left the store soon after, heading back to the motel after a short stop for food. 

***

“Okay, so this plan.” Billy locked the door behind him and looked at the others, soon as they’d all stepped into the dingy motel room. “We got a bit sidetracked, but we better work something out soon.”

D ex nodded in agreement. “I have an idea.”

Charlie glanced between them, trying to munch as quietly as possible  on his wrap.

“We know what they want, I mean, we know who they’re after, right?” Dex continued. “So we just need to give them exactly that.”

“To draw them out...” Billy spoke slowly, catching on.

“Lay a trap.” Dex finished. “With us lying in wait.”

“Wait.” Charlie paused on the wrap. “You want to use me as bait?”

“Yep.” Billy said, plainly, and a short nod from Dex confirmed the plan further. 

“Okay, glad that’s all clearly settled and done with...” Charlie muttered, returning to the comfort of his food.

“When they arrive for Charlie, we shoot them down.” Billy carried on. “But keep whoever seems to be in charge alive, find out who he works for, who he’s involved with, what they want with Charlie, that kind of thing. Then we get rid of him too and go after whoever we need to next.”

Dex’s mouth twitched at the corner. “Simple.”

“We’re going to need guns for this plan of yours. And I have plenty at my apartment-”

“Likewise.”

“But it’s probably best not to go back until this thing is over.”

Dex nodded, his arms folded, then offered, “I know someone. He’ll have what we need.”

“You sure he won’t rat us out? We don’t know who’s looking for us, what kinda reach they have, or money, more importantly.”

“It’s okay, I trust him.” Dex said, catching Billy’s eye, and he nodded back in return.

And  so  after a quick change of clothes, into something much less bloody  and much more inconspicuous , Dex left the motel to go and meet with this  trusted  associate  of his , leaving Billy and Charlie with  a lot of time to kill and not a lot  of things to do.

Billy began by cleaning his knives in the bathroom sink,  then sharpening his knives while sat on his bed, which wasn’t at all a threatening sight to see for Charlie, who was trying to forget about the people trying to kill him through the joys of daytime television,  a plan  which was working brilliantly, by the way.

A few reruns of Family Feud later, and Billy’s boredom was beginning to get the better of him. He’d done about everything he could with the knives, and his attention was drawn to the boy lying on the bed next to him, trying to have any interest in what he was watching.

“So, Charlie boy. What’s going on.”

Charlie gave him a confused glance, but didn’t  bother with an  answer.

“Where are you from? How’d you end up homeless?”

“Didn’t realise I was being interrogated.” Charlie didn’t turn away from the TV this time.

Billy smiled. “Come on. We’ve got time to kill, just tryna make it pass quicker. Get to know each other better.”

“And you’re going to answer some questions back? Hm?” 

“Yeah, why not.”

Charlie scoffed.

“Fine.” Billy sat up straighter. “I’m from Albany. I grew up being passed around the foster system. And what’s going on is this kid won’t answer my questions.”

Charlie rolled his eyes, a little surprised at Billy’s sharing,  however minimal, but still not convinced  on opening up his life story just yet.

“Let’s start off easy then, what kind of music do you like?”

“This is ridiculous.”

“Any girlfriends out there missing you?”

“That’s it, I’m going to shower.”

Billy laughed, watching Charlie stalk off into the other room, having much more fun than he would’ve watching any more of that game show.

A few moments later and the main door opened, and in walked Dex with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder  and a grin on his face.

Billy moved forward on the bed, his face lighting up.  “You got them?”

“Yep.” Dex dropped the bag on the bed and unzipped it. “A few M11’s, can’t go wrong with them, a Barrett M82 and an M4 Carbine. Plenty of rounds too.”

Billy inspected the bag happily, pleased with the purchases, but Dex frowned, looking round the room.

“Where’s the kid?”

“Shower. Apparently I talk too much.”

“You do talk too much.”

Billy glared at him, and then the sound of running water filled the room.

“Hey.” Billy hissed at Dex, his voice dropping to low volumes. “Think he can hear us?”

Dex frowned again, but took a seat on Charlie’s bed, facing Billy, then whispered back. “Probably not. Why?”

“There’s a lot he’s not telling us.”

Dex shrugged. “So? That’s his business.”

“Come on, Dex, you and I both know they wouldn’t come after him like this for just witnessing a drug deal. Something’s going on, he must’ve seen something else.”

“Doesn’t seem like he’s going to tell us.”

“I have ways of making him talk.” Billy winked with that, and Dex rolled his eyes in return.

“Shut up, you creep. We’ll just find out tomorrow, from the lucky bastard we keep alive long enough to tell us all we want to know.”

Billy nodded,  knowing that Dex was talking sense. “Yeah, okay. No need to bother the kid.”

“ _I have ways of making him talk.”_

Charlie half jumped back, his ear coming off from where it was pressed against the door, now filling with the  heavy  noise of the shower, when before it had been listening and collecting and storing all the new information he’d just found out, things he now felt he’d be better off not knowing, which was often the case with eavesdropping. 

They knew. They knew he was lying to them. He shouldn’t have expected differently, really, it was obvious his story didn’t add up, but he thought they’d maybe leave it alone. After all, they were helping him, weren’t they? Why, exactly, he wasn’t sure.

But clearly he’d gotten too comfortable in this new arrangement, with these new allies, forgetting everything he’d learnt from living on the streets, everything he constantly told himself about not trusting people. He’d seen what they could do, how easily they killed; he wasn’t safe here any more.  What Billy had said...It was a threat, right?

Right?

Just because he’d been joking with him, asking him questions, it didn’t suddenly make them friends, no, no, they were still strangers. Even though Billy and Dex had rescued him from...Well, whatever they had done, it was time to move on, he could see that now. Never stay in one place too long. That’s what’s safest. That’s how you survive.

He stepped in the shower, washing quickly, after all, he had to keep up appearances, but a plan was forming rapidly in his mind, one that he was  achingly f amiliar with.

***

“Hey, you alright?” Billy looked over at the boy in the bed next to him, who’d barely said a word since he’d emerged from the shower.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Charlie replied, keeping his voice level, and pulled the duvet over himself, sliding into the bed.

“You know, we’ll have eyes on you at all times tomorrow.” Billy’s voice softened, barely noticeable, but it was there. “No one will hurt you, I promise.”

“Yeah. I know.” Charlie nodded, glanced at Billy. “Thanks.”

H e rolled over, stuck a headphone in his ear and lay waiting in the  black of the still motel room , until he heard the sounds of heaving breathing and light snores. He sat up slowly, silently, stuffing his headphones back into his pocket, everything he owned hidden somewhere on him,  always packed lightly, meaning he was always ready to move. Move on. 

With the silence only a practised thief could maintain, Charlie moved across the room, his footfalls soundless and his breathing muted. He paused, trying to calm the flutter of his heart, then pushed open the window as quietly as he could, relieved when it actually  slid open , considering the state it was in. He looked back at the sleeping faces of the men who’d rescued him. Who he couldn’t trust. Charlie shook his head, held back a sigh, and dropped through the window,  running off into the darkness of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know. i know!! this took forever BUT the good news is i have the next ?? few chapters kinda planned so yay  
> pls enjoy these soft boys being soft i love them all so much  
> if they ever seem out of character it's just...i'm writing them as better people than they are ok consider this their redemption arc


End file.
